Lake Chaffee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lake Chaffee |
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 Lake Chaffee
Location in Connecticut
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| Location | Ashford, Connecticut, United States of America |
| Coordinates | 41°56′20″N 72°11′40″W / 41.93887°N 72.19442°W |
| Type | Artificial |
| Primary inflows | Intermittent streams, runoff |
| Primary outflows | Chaffee Brook |
| Catchment area | 284 acres (115 ha) |
| Basin countries | United States of America (Connecticut) |
| Managing agency | Lake Chaffee Improvement Association |
| Surface area | 54 acres (22 ha) |
| Average depth | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Max. depth | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Residence time | Nearly six months |
| Shore length1 | 8,400 ft (2,600 m) (excluding islands) |
| Surface elevation | 856 ft (261 m) |
| Frozen | December through March (most winters) |
| Islands | 2 |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Lake Chaffee is a small, man-made lake in Ashford, Connecticut. It is found in Windham County, in the northeastern part of Connecticut. The lake covers about 54 acres and is not very deep, reaching a maximum of 11 feet. Its surface is about 800 feet above sea level.
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How Lake Chaffee Was Made
Lake Chaffee was created before 1934. People built a dam across a small stream called Chaffee Brook. Before the dam, this area was a wetland, which is like a marshy, wet land.
About Lake Chaffee's Water
Lake Chaffee gets its water from several small streams and from rain or snowmelt that runs off the land. These streams do not flow all the time. The water then leaves the lake through Chaffee Brook, which flows into the Mount Hope River.
The lake's water is held back by a 300-foot long earthen dam. Chaffee Brook flows out of the lake through a concrete spillway in the middle of this dam. The area of land that drains into Lake Chaffee is about 284 acres. It takes almost six months for all the water in the lake to be completely replaced. The lake has about 8,400 feet of shoreline, not counting its two small islands.
Fun Things to Do at Lake Chaffee
Lake Chaffee has two beaches and a place to launch boats. These spots are open to people who live around the lake. Many fun activities happen on the lake.
You can go swimming, fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. In the winter, when the lake freezes, ice skating is also popular. To keep the lake clean and quiet, boats with gasoline-powered engines are not allowed.
Animals and Plants in Lake Chaffee
Lake Chaffee is a great place for fishing. It has many healthy fish, including largemouth bass, black crappie, chain pickerel, and yellow perch. The largemouth bass often weigh around 2 pounds, but bigger ones weighing 4 to 6 pounds are also common.
The lake also has many water plants. Sometimes, these plants grow so much that they need to be removed. This helps make sure people can still enjoy activities like boating and swimming.
